RC 27 is in the process of electing new board members and officers. Two new board members (professor Donald P. Moynihan, University of Wisconsin and associate professor Julia Fleischer, University of Bergen) were elected in Montreal. They replace professor Herman Bakvis, University of Victoria and professor Hanne Foss Hansen, University of Copenhagen. We like to thank them for their work on the SOG Board and for their service and dedication to our research group.

Charles H. Levine was an outstanding scholar in the fields of public policy and administration. He played a major role in the creation and early life of both this journal and its owner, the Structure and Organization of Government Research Committee of the International Political Science Association (SOG). After his untimely death in 1988, the Editorial Board of Governance and the Executive Committee of SOG established an annual book prize in his memory.

The book selected should meet the following criteria:

It makes a contribution of considerable theoretical or practical significance in the field of public policy and administration.

It takes an explicitly comparative perspective or produces findings the implications of which are highly significant for comparative research.

It is written in an accessible style and form so that it is of value both to scholars and practitioners.

The Levine Prize will be awarded to the book published in 2014 that best meets these criteria. Nominations should be made by 31 March 2015 and sent to the committee. Please send a copy of the book to all three members of the committee. The winner will be announced in the October 2015 issue of Governance.

Some academic studies say that Islamists are effective at providing social services for women, while others contend that Islamic groups "support pro-male policies that disadvantage the well-being of women." In the current issue of Governance, Lisa Blaydes examines the effects of Islamist rule in neighbourhoods of Greater Cairo. "Women subject to governance by the Islamic group enjoyed better outcomes in reproductive health" than in comparable neighborhoods ruled by strongmen, Blaydes concludes. FREE ACCESS to the article.

The New Zealand model, thirty years later

Thirty years ago, on July 14, 1984, New Zealand voters elected a Labour government that launched a far-reaching program of public sector reforms. The "New Zealand model" became famous around the globe. In the current issue of Governance, Jonathan Boston and Chris Eichbaum of Victoria University examine the long-term effects of the reform program begun in 1984. Neoliberal reforms triggered electoral changes that made full realization of the neoliberal program impossible. Today, they write, "there is evidence of not one but two unfinished intellectual projects" -- the neoliberal revolution, and the constitutional pushback. Free access to the commentary.